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Kone Elevator to go for brownfield expansion

Elevator and escalator maker Kone Elevator India said it will go for capacity expansion in its Chennai plant shortly to retain its existing market share.

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MUMBAI: Elevator and escalator maker Kone Elevator India on Thursday said it will go for capacity expansion in its Chennai plant shortly to retain its existing market share.
   
The company claims to be the leader in the Rs 2,000 crore domestic elevator and escalator market with 26 per cent share.
   
"The Indian market is growing by 15 per cent year-on- year. We are the number one player in the escalator and elevator market in India and intend to retain the position in future as well," KEI's Managing Director A Sankarakrishnan said here.
   
KEI, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Kone Corporation Finland, started operations in India in 1984 through a joint venture with Best & Crompton. Kone took the management control in 1992 and subsequently the whole of it in 1996.
   
The Chennai plant, he said, is manufacturing around 6,000 elevators and escalators per annum.
   
"It's a question of time. This will be brownfield expansion as we don't have any plan to put up any new facility at the moment," he said, declining to give further details.
   
"We had acquired the lift division of Bharat Bijlee in 2004. Now, we don't have plans for inorganic growth, however, if any opportunity beckons us, we will go for it," he added when asked whether the company plans acquisition.
   
Products manufactured by KEI is exported to the neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh, Australia, Thailand and Singapore.

"Our parent company is very bullish on Indian operation since we have grown from a revenue of Rs 81 crore in 2002 to Rs 380 crore in 2006," Sankarakrishnan said, adding this year KEI's business was expected to grow by 30 per cent.
   
The parent company has no plans to list the Indian subsidiary in Indian bourses, he added.

Meanwhile, the parent company is putting up a research and development (R&D) centre in India for its Asian operations.
   
"The facility will be operational from January next year. It will have around 20-30 professionals," he said, adding India's talent and expertise in software prompted Kone to put up the facility in the country among other Asian countries.

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